By Gamers. For Gamers. Trolls are not welcomed.

Menu

Pre-Release Hype: How Much Is Too Much?

Hello everyone. I’m here today to talk about a subject that you probably won’t feel directly speaks to you. But it does. You see, I’m watching something happen on the internet as the days pass by and we get closer to the second wave of next gen launch titles. We’re all very excited for games such as Titanfall, Infamous: Second Son, and The Order: 1886. It’s very understandable that these titles are highly anticipated. All 3 look fantastic, and show the promise of their respective consoles. However, I am begging you gamers, BEGGING YOU, to slow down before you crash. I have witnessed this before, and it never ends well.

Let’s take a trip back in time to September of 2013. A little game known as Grand Theft Auto 5 was released. Gamers all over the world hailed it as the greatest day ever. Shrines were built. Sick days were put into motion. Spouses were ignored, or sent packing. I saw a lot of best game ever talk. Anyone who dared say anything in opposition to this line of thinking was quickly deemed unfit for conversation. With about 2 weeks left before launch, I stopped talking about it completely. Fast forward to about 1 week after the online portion launched. Guess what the popular opinion was then? “This game sucks/Its overrated/I’m trading it in” and there were many more along those lines. It’s like gamers love to hurt themselves. They will over hype a game to astronomical levels, then tear it apart when it doesn’t meet the unreachable bar they set.

I’m watching it happen as I type with all 3 of the aforementioned titles, and it worries me. The Order hype machine has kicked into overdrive in the past 2 weeks after a closed door event showed off some new footage. Infamous and Titanfall are both nearing release, and the hype machines for each are reaching a fever pitch. I understand that this is the nature of the world we live in. Everything is all about the latest and greatest. However, I am starting to wonder if gamers just secretly enjoy the disappointment.How many times do you have to repeat the same cycle before you decide to do better? I know part of this is the fanboy war. The respective sides have to hype their exclusives up. Other then that particular reason, I don’t have another one that makes sense.

Look, I don’t make the rules. You can do what you want to do. If you want to continue to build mile high pedestals, place your game of choice on them, then demolish them after release in a fit of rage, you have that right. I just want you to know that the constant state of disappointment you feel regarding video games being unimpressive is of your own doing. I’m not saying games never underwhelm, because they do sometimes. What I AM saying is that keeping expectations in line with reality will help you get the most enjoyment out of the games you choose to play. Doesn’t that sound sensible? I thought so. So let’s all relax and be sensible this gen. Let’s not make the same mistakes we used to make. Let’s have fun again everyone. Please. And if you do want to be that person, keep it away from us sane folk who just want to enjoy our games. Many thanks. See ya!